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So here are the odds and ends of life around here lately...
Rain: We got just under an inch last night, the first day of October. How about this stat: Last year, August and September, we got 1.16 and .98 inches of rain, respectively. This year, those same months saw us get 7.56 and 5.75 inches- nearly six times greater. The thirty year averages were 3.8 and 3.04, thus halfway between the drought and the deluge.
Related: When we were coming back from the doggie park this morning, I told Misty to "look at the water" in the stream that cuts through the property. She goes dowen the bank to a narrow (maybe 6 inches) but deep (again, maybe 6 inches) spot, sniffs the water, puts on foot in. Thinks about it, and steps out. Goes down a foot or two, where its wider (maybe a foot), but shallow and running faster (guessing three inches). Sniffs the water, walks joyfully across and up the other bank. Mind you, this dog walks in to the river past her armpits.
My back: So it first acts up last Saturday/Sunday, and combined with a bad sinus attack, I took Monday off. Tuesday sinuses better, back worse. I ordered a heating pad and some Icy-Hot and took that day off as well. Wednesday, I said, "I'm going to try it"- even though I could tell my knees were shouldering all of my weight and my back 0. Left after an hour and a half, took a vacay day Thursday. by Sunday I was close to normal. Monday, work drained me pretty bad. Tuesday was better, and the rest of the week was pretty much normal. Not the worst pain I've had there, but certainly the longest-lasting.
Squirrel: Lats night I got her out, and she sat still on my chest for a good 10 minutes- that's the longest yet she's been on me without kicking into Magellen mode- aka exploring at high speed.
Related: Last couple of weeks when Laurie has had her out, she's pooped on her Mommy. Nothing says love like...
Research: Having just finished my umpteenth reading of Michael Wood's In Search Of The Trojan War, I quizzed grok about some things on the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. The Minoans (who came earlier) were pretty standard genetically for the peoples of that area; the Mycenaeans (Homer's Argives, the ones who came after and fought the Trojans) had the same genetics PLUS some of the northern and eastern steppe dwellers. Modern Greeks, it went on to say, are more Mycenaean than Minoan.
Which led me into the languages. We know the Mycenaeans spoke a proto Greek, and wrote in what we call Linear B- which we can translate and basically sound out, given Greek. The Minoans had a written language called Linear A- which in form is a lot like Linear B. But if you try to sound it out based on Greek, you get nonsense. The writing is related, but Minoan is NOT any kind of Greek. In fact, they call it an isolate. I asked about other isolates in that general area- and found out there are a TON of Biblical area languages that are considered isolates- they have NO related languages to them. Among these are some of the more ancient languages we know- Hattian, Hurrian, Sumerian, and Elamite. Which makes a connection for me- that these, with Minoan and some others, were the tongues shattered by God at the Tower of Babel! Science will scoff, but science can't explain what the team at the Noah's Ark site are finding as we speak, so I'll go Bible.
Hockey: season has started, and I have noticed two things: A lot of teams look badly out of shape ( especially Philadelphia and Calgary in their home openers), and the refs are missing calls right in front of them by the bushel-basket-full.
Related: At the second (I believe) game in Philly, they had service dogs out on the ice before the game. One of them expressed my thoughts for the Flyers perfectly- he pooped right in the middle of their center ice logo. Good dog! The night before, a 7-0 loss, my son tells me the fans booed by throwing cheesesteaks out on the ice. Maybe they should have brought the dogs out then...
Lunch: Laurie has already made hers, and the smell is making me hungry! So for now,...er, chow!
